[rorrr]

Is it just me or these numbers are not that impressive?

Many of my friends make $100+/hr, it's not out of the ordinary.

I'm sure there are really highly paid developers there as well, but it just feels good to know that you don't need to work for one of the huge companies to make good money.

[ryanfitz]

I agree, in my experience most funded startups (in nyc) are willing to pay at least 120K a year and you can make much more consulting. I would have thought these two companies, which are seen as the top of technology, would be paying much more.

[JabavuAdams]

The reverse is true. The cooler a place is perceived to be, the less they can afford to pay developers, up to some threshold where they can't hire any good ones.

There's a huge variance to what salary good developers are happy with. For every one who says "I wouldn't work for less than X", there are some who would, and moreover would not be unhappy at that salary level.

[ericd]

The decreased risk of a regular salary mitigates it - consultants don't really have job security, and it's hard to be fully employed all the time as a consultant.

Also, there are a large number of paper millionaire FB employees, from the stock options. It's a hell of a bonus that I'm pretty sure isn't included in these numbers.

[eitally]

Total compensation (including all benefits) probably adds up to close to $200k/yr for Googlers in MTV. That campus is not inexpensive to operate.

[hogu]

agreed, especially given the recent discussion about talent wars... I would expect salaries to be higher given the war